ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:
National Association of Perishable Agricultural Receivers (NAPAR), Washington, D.C.
Matthew D’Arrigo, vice president of D’Arrigo Bros. Co., was elected chairman, succeeding Joe Procacci, president and CEO of Procacci Brothers Sales Corp. Elected to serve as first vice chairman of the board was John Vena, president of John Vena, Inc. Jay Rosenstein, president and CEO of William Rosenstein & Sons, a Scranton, was re-elected to serve as second vice chairman. Meanwhile, Rob Strube, former president of Strube Celery & Vegetable Co.; Dominic Russo, co-founder of Rocky Produce; and Jeff Brown, founder, president and CEO of Brown’s Super Stores, Inc., were elected as new members.
International Association for Food Protection, Des Moines, Iowa
Dr. Roger Cook and Dr. Vijay Juneja were selected as candidates for the 2017–2018 secretary. Cook is manager of food risk assessment for New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), formerly the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA), and MPI’s principal food microbiologist. In this role, he leads New Zealand’s regulatory microbiological food safety risk assessment initiatives, specifically those for STEC and Campylobacter; designs research projects to support development and verification of food safety regulations and evaluate outcomes and consequences of overseas market access requirements; develops monitoring programs for domestic and export assurances (the equivalent to the U.S. PR/HACCP and STEC programs); and provides microbiological advice to the vast array of New Zealand’s domestic and export food industry. Juneja is a lead scientist (microbiologist, GS-15) of a research project on predictive microbiology at the Eastern Regional Research Center (ERRC) of the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). His research addresses high-priority U.S. national needs by developing technical information and technologies required by federal regulatory agencies, the food industry, consumers and the international scientific community.
ASTM International, West Conshohocken, Pa.
Katharine Morgan was named president, succeeding James Thomas, who has served in the role for 25 years. Morgan will lead a team that supports thousands of members, customers, partners and other stakeholders worldwide. Morgan is a 33-year veteran of ASTM International. She has served as executive vice president for the past two years. Prior to that, she was vice president of Technical Committee Operations, leading a 50-member team that supports the volunteer work of ASTM International’s 30,000 members worldwide.
U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY), Tucker, Ga.
Jerry Moye, recently retired president of Cobb-Vantress, was elected chairman of the board of directors of U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY). Moye spent 16 years in integrated chicken production for Showell Farms and Zacky Farms, before joining Cobb-Vantress in 1991, where he held a variety of positions. He is also a former chair of The Poultry Federation. Tom Hensley, president of Fieldale Farms, was named vice chairman. Before joining Fieldale Farms 39 years ago, Hensley was a tax manager at Price Waterhouse & Co. In addition, he is past chairman of the National Chicken Council, and a life member of the Georgia Poultry Federation. John Prestage, senior vice president of Prestage Farms, was named treasurer. He has served the poultry industry in various capacities on boards and committees, including the North Carolina Poultry Federation and the National Turkey Federation. He has been with Prestage Farms since its inception in 1983. Greg Hinton, vice president of sales for Rose Acre Farms, was named secretary. He has served the poultry industry in various capacities on boards and committees, including the Indiana State Egg Board, USA Poultry & Egg Export Council, International Egg Commission, United Egg Producers, Indiana Farm Bureau and the American Farm Bureau. He has been with Rose Acre Farms for 37 years. Lastly, Paul Hill, chairman of West Liberty Foods, was appointed immediate past chairman. Hill was instrumental in the founding of West Liberty Foods, and was president of Circle Hill Farms. He is also a past chairman of the National Turkey Federation.
PROCESSORS/RETAILERS/DISTRIBUTORS:
Westby Cooperative Creamery, Westby, Wis.
Robert Anderson and Art Thicke were elected to the board of directors, taking over for long-serving board members Kay Yanske and Loren Oldenburg, who reached their term limits. Yanske served for 13 years, eight as secretary and treasurer, and Oldenburg served for 14 years, with the past five as board president. Anderson is co-owner of a 35-cow organic dairy farm, while Thicke operates a 95-cow organic dairy farm. Ryan Dunnum, Chuck Fremstad, Ralph Petersheim, Keith Rach and Thomas Schaub were elected the board of directors for fiscal year 2017.
Performance Food Group Co.(PFG), Richmond, Va.
Jeff Hazell, founder and owner of Bar Harbor Seafood, was named president of Bar Harbor Seafood, a Performance Food Group Specialty Co., after it acquired the regional seafood distributor.
Sargento Foods Inc., Plymouth, Wis.
Erin Price was promoted to senior director of strategic planning, tasked with helping Sargento advance strategic planning initiatives across several areas of the organization. She will also be responsible for leading the strategic planning process, evaluating and prioritizing growth initiatives and leading key strategic initiatives company-wide. Price has been with Sargento for nine years. Chris McCarthy was named director of integrated marketing communications, taking on Price’s previous role. McCarthy joined Sargento in 2013 as director of marketing for adjacencies, snacks and strategic channels. Previously, McCarthy was director of marketing role, responsible for launching the Balanced Breaks and Snack Bites. Prior to joining Sargento, he worked with top brands at Kraft Heinz Co. and Kimberly-Clark Corp. And, Ryan Hemsing joined as director of marketing, charged with planning, developing and implementing marketing strategies to build the Sargento brand and grow the core snacks, Snack Bites, Balanced Breaks and strategic channels businesses. Prior to joining Sargento, Hemsing worked for MillerCoors in a variety of marketing roles for Blue Moon and Leinenkugel's brands. He was most recently marketing director for Sargento, responsible for leading brand strategy, innovation and communications across the portfolio. Lastly, Amy Ham joined as category insights manager, responsible for leading category management efforts at key retailers, including Meijer, Giant Eagle, DeCA, HEB and SpartanNash, among others. Previously, she was the client insights and consumer shopper marketing analyst for IRI, and played a key role in supporting the Perrigo Co.
Inventure Foods, Inc., Phoenix, Ariz.
Joel Stewart was appointed independent director on the board of directors, effective immediately, filling the vacancy left by David Meyers, who stepped down Jan. 17. Stewart currently has served as a vice president of LKCM Headwater Investments since August 2013, and serves as a director and/or advisor to multiple portfolio companies held by LKCM Headwater Investments and other LKCM affiliates. Previously, Stewart was vice president at The Presidio Group; a principal of 6Pacific Partners, LLC; and an investment banker at JPMorgan.
Colorado Premium, Greeley, Colo.
Industry veteran Mark Gustafson was appointed director of international sales. Gustafson was most recently the director of international beef sales for JBS USA, and retired from JBS last year after a 38-year career that included positions with Monfort, U.S. Meat Export Federation, ConAgra International and Swift and Co. Gustafson began his career with Monfort, where he worked from 1977-1984 in production, production scheduling and international sales before joining the U.S. Meat Export Federation.
JBS S.A., Brazil
John Boehner, the former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, joined the board of directors. Boehner served as the representative of Ohio’s 8th Congressional District from 1991-2015. During his time in Congress, he served as vice chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture and as chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce. He was the House majority leader from 2006-2007, and House minority leader from 2007-2010. In January 2011, he was elected U.S. Speaker of the House, and retired from Congress in October 2015 after more than 30 years of public service. Boehner is currently a senior strategic advisor at Squire Patton Boggs, where he provides strategic advice and counsel to clients on all aspects of domestic and international policy. Greg Heckman, an accomplished leader with more than 30 years of experience in the agriculture and energy industries and a strong understanding of commodity and overall business risk management, also joined the board of directors. Heckman is the former president and CEO of The Gavilon Group, where he directed the carve-out of the company from ConAgra Foods in 2008. As CEO of Gavilon, he doubled the size of the company from 2008-2012, and led its sale to Marubeni in 2013. Prior to leading Gavilon, he spent 24 years with ConAgra Foods, where he maintained leadership responsibility for multiple business segments and corporate functions. Currently, Heckman is one of the founding partners of Flatwater Partners, LLC. New to the board of directors is Charles Macaluso, who has been a principal at Dorchester Capital Advisors, LLC since 1998. He has significant experience in operational assessment, strategic planning, crisis management and turnaround advisory services. Macaluso currently serves as a member of the board directors of Darling Ingredients Inc., Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. and Global Equipment Power Group. Steven Mills also joined the board of directors. Mills is a consultant and advisor, providing services to clients in the private equity, agribusiness, renewable products and financial services fields. He has nearly 40 years of experience in accounting, corporate finance, strategic planning, risk management and mergers and acquisitions. He served as chief financial officer of Amryis, Inc. from May 2012 to December 2013. Prior to joining Amyris, he maintained a 33-year career at Archer-Daniels-Midland Co., where he held various senior executive roles, including chief financial officer and controller. Lastly, Dimitri Panayotopoulos joined the board of directors. Panayotopoulos is former vice chairman and advisor to the chairman and CEO of Procter & Gamble, where he spent 37 years, working in many markets across the globe. He continued to focus on innovation, speed to market and scale across all of Procter & Gamble’s businesses while serving as vice chairman of all global business units.
Hormel Foods, Austin, Minn.
Larry Lyons, senior vice president of human resources, and Bryan Farnsworth, senior vice president of supply chain, announced their retirements. As a result, Mark Coffey, vice president of affiliated business units in refrigerated foods, will assume the role of vice president of supply chain, and Mark Morey, former president of the company's previous Farmer John business, will assume the role of vice president of affiliated business units in refrigerated foods. Lyons joined Hormel Foods in 1978 as an industrial engineering trainee at the company's former Fort Dodge, Iowa, plant. In 1981, he became a compensation analyst at the corporate office, and later became the industrial relations supervisor. In 1988, he transferred to the Beloit, Wis., plant as manager of personnel and purchasing. Lyons became the corporate manager of safety and security in 1993, followed by other human resources roles, including manager of employee relations and director of personnel, until being named director of human resources in 2006. He assumed his current role in 2014. Farnsworth began his career in 1981 with Hormel Foods at the Fremont, Neb., plant, and has held a variety of quality and process control positions. He gained plant manager experience in 1995 at Jennie-O Turkey Store, and in 1996, became director of quality management. Farnsworth advanced to vice president of quality management in 2005, and assumed his current role in 2014. Coffey began his career with Hormel Foods in 1985 as a relief foreman at the company's former Ottumwa, Iowa, facility. He held various relief foreman and foreman positions before becoming the supervisor of sausage and cured and smoked meats in 1989. Two years later, he became the product manufacturing manager for cured and smoked meats, followed by the product manufacturing manager for fresh sausage and linear programs in 1993. From 1995-2011, Coffey worked as plant manager for the former Houston, Texas, facility. He assumed his current role in 2011. Morey began his career as a meat products sales representative in 1993, and the same year, became a territory manager in Minneapolis, Minn. In 1994, he became a meat products product manager at the company's former Dubuque, Iowa, foods facility, and in 1995, became a regional foodservice sales manager for Dubuque Foods. In 1998, he returned to Hormel as the product manager of fresh pork. Two years later, he became the director of marketing for Precept Foods, and in 2006, became a group product manager in meat products. In 2008, he advanced to director of fresh meats marketing and general manager of Precept Foods. Morey moved to president of Dan's Prize in 2009, then president of Farmer John in 2015.
Generation Farms, Park, Ga.
Chris Hill was selected vice president of sales and marketing, charged with leading efforts to grow and transform the business into a premier grower/shipper of high-quality, food-safe produce across the East Coast. Hill spent the last 18 years with Chiquita/Fresh Express in various leadership roles, including general manager and vice president of the Fresh Express packaged salad division.
Market Fresh Produce, Nixa, Mo.
Dan Thompson was named senior director of operations, responsible for managing all aspects of building operations, including production, shipping, receiving, delivery, sanitation, inventory control standards and compliance for safe work practice. He will do this while ensuring a safe work environment for all team members and the highest degree of accuracy and quality. Thompson maintains nearly 20 years of experience in warehouse operations and logistics. His previous experience includes distribution supervisor at Nestlé Waters; regional distribution manager at Andersen Windows; senior operations logistics manager at Heinz Manufacturing; and vice president of operations at Tintometer Inc. Meanwhile, Mike Combs joined as the new national director of packaging supply, responsible for packaging development, order replenishment and facilitating efficient, cost-saving operations by managing packaging liability and inventory levels across the Market Fresh Produce network, while working with the marketing department to develop innovative packaging ideas. Combs is an experienced manager with over 25 years in sales performance, business development, team building, logistics and warehouse operations. Combs began his career in the claims/logistics department at NTC of America before becoming an account manager at Hyman Freightways. He then went on to work as a sales manager for Brandt Truck Lines and later Tayloe Paper and Packaging. He was most recently sales manager at Veritiv Corp.
Mrs. T’s Pierogies, Shenandoah, Pa.
Michael Gross was promoted to vice president of sales. Gross brings leadership and fresh analytic insight to this role. He previously served as the company’s national sales director. Gross joined Mrs. T’s Pierogies in April 2014 after 30 years at Heinz North America. Meanwhile, Nikole Meckley was promoted to food service national sales manager, charged with managing the foodservice sales team responsible for K-12, college and university and national accounts. Meckley has more than 30 years of experience in the foodservice industry, and most recently served as Mrs. T’s food service regional manager.
FOODSERVICE:
Del Frisco's Restaurant Group, Inc., Southlake, Texas
Ray Risley was named brand president of Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House, where he will lead the operations of the concepts' 12 restaurant locations. Risley was most recently senior vice president of operations, overseeing Del Frisco's Grille. Risley has been with Del Frisco's Restaurant Group for over 18 years, and was a member of the team that developed the Grille concept. He also previously served as vice president of operations for Sullivan's Steakhouse and the opening regional manager for the first Del Frisco's Grille restaurants. And, Scott Smith was named brand president of Sullivan's Steakhouse, to oversee the operations of all 18 Sullivan's Steakhouse locations. Most recently, Smith was co-founder, chairman and CEO of Day Star Restaurant Group, the parent company to Texas Land and Cattle and Lone Star Steakhouse. Prior to Day Star Restaurant Group, Smith served as senior vice president of Romano's Macaroni Grill, where he was responsible for day-to-day operations for 68 locations. He also held two leadership roles, including chief executive officer and president and Chief COO, at Restaurants Unlimited, Inc. Smith also served as chief executive officer and president of Amer Restaurant Division at Amer Group; chief operating officer and president of Springfield Restaurant Group; president of Restaurant eFund; founder and partner of TRH Restaurants; president and COO of the casual dining division of Quality Dining, Inc. and director of franchise operations at Brinker International.
SUPPLIERS:
Anchor Glass Container Corp., Tampa, Fla.
President and CEO Jim Fredlake will take a leave of absence for personal reasons, effective immediately. As a result, board member and non-executive chairman of BA Glass Carlos Moreira da Silva will serve as the interim CEO. Moreira da Silva maintains decades of experience in the glass industry.
Park City Group’s ReposiTrak Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah
Bob Kurland joined the business development team, playing a key role in helping ReposiTrak meet the industry’s need to validate compliance through documentation. Kurland brings more than 27 years of experience working for consumer packaged goods companies, calling on a variety of retailers and wholesalers in a variety of roles, including new business development, trade relations and key account management.
O’Neal, Inc., Atlanta
David Dixon was named food and beverage leader of the company’s newly launched strategic business unit (SBU). Dixon maintains over 25 years of professional experience in the food, beverage and consumer packaged goods industries and extensive international project management experience. Plus, he is a specialist in food safety and sanitary design of processes and facilities for the food industry and global supply chain consulting.
NFI, Cherry Hill, N.J.
James Shafer was hired as senior vice president of solutions design and engineering, overseeing solutions and engineering for the company’s transportation and distribution business lines. Shafer brings extensive experience in supply chain, operations and engineering. Previously, Shafer held leadership positions in solutions and engineering at other 3PLs, with experience in operations, program management, implementations, quality management and IT.
The Bühler Group, London
Stefano Bonacina was named new segment development manager for fruit and vegetables in Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Bonacina’s experience in the fruit and vegetable industry spans 29 years, 18 of those with Bühler. He began his career in fruit and vegetable packaging and, in 1998, joined as head of Buhler Sortex’s sales and service office in Italy, responsible for developing its fruit and vegetable, milling and rice markets.
Ecoark Holdings, Inc., Rogers, Ark.
Peter Mehring and Troy Richards were appointed to the board of directors. Mehring has served as president of Zest Labs, Inc., a subsidiary of the company, since July 2009. As president, he leads the company's efforts in pioneering on-demand data visibility and condition monitoring solutions for the fresh produce, protein and pharmaceutical markets. He was formerly vice president of Macintosh hardware group at Apple Computer; senior vice president of engineering at Echelon; and founder, general manager and vice president of R&D at UMAX. Mehring also held engineering management positions at Radius, Power Computing Corp., Sun Microsystems and Wang Laboratories. Richards was appointed chief administrative officer for Ecoark in June 2016, and has served as an advisor to the company since 2013. Since 1992, Richards has been a franchisee of over 30 Wendy's restaurants, managing over 400 employees throughout Arizona. Richards actively serves on the foundation board of the Translational Genomics Research Institute ("TGen"), and has been involved in TGen's growth in many areas, including advanced adrenal cancer research and institution-wide marketing. Meanwhile, Dr. Yash Puri resigned as a member of the board and as executive vice president, CFO of the company, effective Jan. 13. Puri's role will be filled by two current employees—Jay Oliphant, principal financial officer and principal accounting officer, and Jay Puchir, treasurer and secretary.
Polymer Logistics, Riverside, Calif.
Paul Pederson joined as vice president of protein and dairy supply chain and food safety, effective Jan. 23, responsible for commercial development of protein and dairy applications of retail-ready reusable platforms. He will also lead food safety, regulatory compliance, safety, technical services and quality across all operations. Pederson’s career experience spans reusable transport packaging systems, grocery retail and state regulatory agencies. He has worked at IFCO Systems, Associated Food Stores and the Utah Departments of Agriculture and Health. He is also chair of the Food & Beverage Committee for the Reusable Packaging Association, and led development of the association’s RPC best practices guidelines and HACCP, Food Safety Surveillance and Quality Monitoring programs.
Modality Solutions, LLC, Houston, Texas
Gabrielle Mosiniak was appointed a consulting engineer, assisting with laboratory testing and completing protocols and reports for distribution and thermal testing at Modality's’ Advantage Transport Simulation Laboratory. She also writes and updates standard operating procedures and assembles data packages for reporting. Previously, she worked for The Ohio State University Biomedical Engineering Department’s Summer Design Experience, where she implemented the engineering design process to improve prototypes of past senior design projects. She also focused on sensory prosthesis and red blood cell filter projects and gained experience with machining parts, simple circuit design and Arduino programming.
Styrotek, Inc., Delano, Calif.
Interim CEO Richard Lindenmuth and interim CFO John Steucheli shed their interim titles and transitioned to fully integrated positions within the organization. Lindenmuth and Steucheli both came to Styrotek in the spring of 2015 to fill interim positions. Lindenmuth will continue to lead Styrotek’s overall operations from the headquarters, while Steucheli will continue to manage resource allocation and investments.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc., Darien, Conn.
Chairman of the board of directors Mortimer Fuller III announced plans to retire in May after 40 years with the company. Fuller became chairman, president and CEO in 1977, when he purchased a controlling interest in the company’s corporate predecessor, the original Genesee and Wyoming Railroad, which his great grandfather founded in 1899. He has since served as chief executive officer for 30 years and chairman for 40 years. Throughout his tenure, he demonstrated an unwavering focus on growth and laid the foundation for the company’s core purpose – to be the safest and most respected rail service provider in the world. Chief executive officer and board member Jack Hellmann will be appointed chairman of the board, and Oivind Lorentzen will be appointed lead independent director.
IN MEMORIUM: GLEN MARTIN, MARTIN BROS. DISTRIBUTING CO.
Glen Martin, co-founder of Martin Bros Distributing Co., Cedar Falls, Iowa, passed away Dec. 22, 2016.
In 1940, he and his brother Roy started the company. During World War II, Martin served in the United States Army infantry in the Pacific theater from 1942-1946. He was discharged as 1st Sergeant and received the Army Commendation medal.
After his Army service, Martin returned to Martin Brothers, and was active in growing the company until his retirement in the early 1980s.
He is survived by two daughters (Christine and Cynthia), four grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Private interment will be in Cedar Falls at a later date.
IN MEMORIUM: OTTO FLORENCE, JR., INDEPENDENT MEAT CO.
Otto Florence, Jr., co-owner of Independent Meat Co., Twin Falls, Idaho, passed away peacefully on Jan. 29 at Bridgeview Care Center.
Otto came to Twin Falls, Idaho, with his parents and younger brother Ted in 1925. Otto Sr. accepted a position as foreman of Independent Meat Co., where he had worked prior to the couple's move to California. The family grew to include two more brothers, Frank and Joe.
Shortly after the war, Otto, his father and brothers became full owners of Independent Meat Co. In 1951, Otto was named manager of “Falls Brand Meats,” Independent Meat Co., and served in this position until his retirement in 1983.
Otto served on the board of the Western State Meat Packers Association from 1955-1983, and as chairman from 1964-1966. He was founder, director and president of the Idaho Meat Packers Association, and on the board of the Idaho Cattlemen's Association.
Otto was preceded in death by his parents, and his brothers, Joe, Ted and Frank. He is survived by his wife of over 70 years, Mary Alice; his son Pat and wife Wendy of Twin Falls; daughter Kelly and husband Jim Jones of Boise; daughter Alice Marie (Mrezzie) and husband Hugh Putnam of Pocatello; daughter Margaret Ann (Maggie) and husband Kenny Saunders of Boise; son Franny and wife Betsy of Twin Falls, and son Brian of Boise.
